By Cecilia Jamasmie
MINING.com
China’s government is likely the one behind the significant increase in gold imports that has made the country become the world’s second-largest consumer of the precious metal after India, reports Financial Times.
Demand for the yellow metal in China has experimented a solid growth over the past four years to the point analysts predict the nation’s gold demand will beat supply by 2015, making it the world’s largest buyer by year-end.
China is already the world’s biggest gold producer and it has been so since 2007, with an annul output of 403 tons in 2012, a year-on-year growth of almost 12%.
The question is, says Evy Hambro — chief investment officer of BlackRock’s natural resources equity team, where all that gold is going.